Screening of microorganisms producing flocculating substances was carried out. A strain secreting a large amount of bioflocculant was isolated from wastewater samples collected from the Little Moon River in Beijing. Based on the morphological properties and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the isolate (designated W31) was classified as Vagococcus sp. A bioflocculant (named MBFW31) produced by W31 was extracted from the culture broth by ethanol precipitation and purified by gel chromatography. MBFW31 was heat-stable and had strong flocculating activity in a wide range of pH with relatively low dosage requirement. MBFW31 was identified as a polysaccharide with molecular weight over 2 x 10(6). It contained neutral sugar and uronic acid as its major and minor components, respectively. Infrared spectra showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and methoxyl group in its molecules. The present results suggested that MBFW31 had potential application in wastewater treatment.
Carbohydrates ; analysis ; chemistry ; Enterococcus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Flocculation ; Species Specificity ; Waste Disposal, Fluid ; methods ; Water Microbiology ; Water Pollutants ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin) concentration and insulin sensitivity in the visceral adipose tissue of young obese Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.

METHODSTwenty-four SD rats which had been weaned 3 weeks before were randomly divided into two groups (n=12 each) to receive a high-fat and normal diet. The weight and abdominal circumference (AC) of each rat were measured, the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin (FINS) in blood from the angular vein were measured after 12 hours of fasting and blood glucose (BG) and insulin (INS) levels in blood from the angular vein were measured at 60 and 120 minutes after intraperitoneal injection of 50% glucose (2 g/kg). The rats were sacrificed, and their liver and visceral adipose tissue were weighed. The vaspin concentration of the visceral adipose tissue in each rat was measured using ELISA. Correlation analysis was performed on the vaspin concentration and other indices.

RESULTSCompared with the normal diet group, the high-fat diet group showed significantly higher weight, AC, weight of visceral adipose tissue, FPG, FINS, 120 minute INS level, vaspin concentration, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and homeostasis model assessment of β cell function (HOMA-β) (P<0.05) Insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was significantly lower (P<0.01). Vaspin concentration was positively correlated with visceral adipose tissue and liver weight, AC, 120 minute INS level, FPG, FINS, HOMA-IR and HOMA-β (P<0.05), and negatively correlated with ISI (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSHigh expression of vaspin is associated with insulin resistance in young obese SD rats. Vaspin is presumably an adipocytokine that can increase insulin sensitivity, promote insulin secretion by islet β-cells and improve glucose tolerance, and it may be involved in insulin resistance and the disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism.

Animals ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Insulin ; blood ; Insulin Resistance ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; chemistry ; Male ; Obesity ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Serpins ; analysis ; physiology

OBJECTIVEThe aims of the present study were to assess the characteristics of MSCs which were induced and proliferated in vitro, then to learn the interfaces between them and metal materials.

METHODSAdult dogs were selected as experimental animals, the MSCs (marrow stem cells) were aspirated from the femur, which were induced to the phenotype of OB (osteoblast), then to proliferated in vitro with metal materials. Using biochemical tests, phase contrast microscopy, transmit electromicroscope, scanning electromicroscope to detect MSCs and the image of interface.

RESULTSMSCs had powerful osteogenic phenotype when they were induced in vitro, and they also attached to the metal materials. And there were more cells which attached on tensile stress area than other areas.

CONCLUSIONThe MSCs induced in vitro could be used as source of osteoblast. The affects of air--abrasion with alumina are not significant, but they have relation to the extent of strain and property of stress.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Dogs ; In Vitro Techniques ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Metals ; Osteoblasts

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism to reverse the drug resistance of leukemia cells in tetrandrine (Tet) alone or in combination with droloxifen (Drol) by using protein chips and to lay the theoretical basis for the clinical applications. Three monoclonal antibodies against P-glycoprotein (P-gp), the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP1) and the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) were immobilized onto the agarose gel film-coated glass slides. Protein chips were prepared respectively from K562/A02 cells cultured for 12, 24 and 48 hours with Tet alone or in combination with Drol. The results showed that Tet alone or in combination with Drol could decrease only the expression of P-gp in a time-dependent manner, the effect for 48 hours as follows: Tet + Drol 82.620 +/- 3.227; Tet alone 86.440 +/- 2.906; Drol alone 87.230 +/- 2.049; control 93.670 +/- 2.748 (P < 0.05). However, down-regulation of P-gp by K562/A02 cells cultured with Tet alone or in combination with Drol began at 24 hours (Tet + Drol 85.270 +/- 3.095; control 93.670 +/- 2.748, P < 0.05). The results were coincident with that of FCM. It is concluded that Tet and Drol can downregulate the expression of P-gp in the time-dependent way. There is a significant difference between Tet alone and Tet combined with Drol at 24 hours (P < 0.05). The expression of MRP1 and BCRP are not closely correlated with the reversal mechanism of Tet and Drol, and which may be involved in the mechanism of this combination to reverse multidrug resistance in leukemia.
ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Sub-Family G, Member 2 ; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters ; biosynthesis ; ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1 ; biosynthesis ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Benzylisoquinolines ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Drug Synergism ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Neoplasm Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Protein Array Analysis ; Tamoxifen ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology

In order to study the distribution of virulence genes of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Hebei Province,29 virulence genes of Lm,including Listeria monocytogenes pathogenicity islands Ⅰ (LIPI-Ⅰ:prfA,plcA,plcB,hlyA,mpl and actA),10 internalins genes (inlA,inlB,inlC,inlD,inlE,inlF,inlG,inlH /C2,inlI and inlJ) and the other 13 virulence-associated genes (bsh,srtA,iap,sigB,virR,mprF,dltA,dltB,dltC,dltD,srtB,fbpA and hpt) were detected by PCR.Results showed that in the 91 Lm strains,the detection rate of 23 virulence genes were 100％.The 29 virulence genes of 26 Lm strains were all detected,and 65 Lm strains had different deletion of 6 virulence genes inlD,inlF,inlG,inlH /C2,inlJ and mpl.The deletion rate of inlG and inlF were 60.44％ and 54.95％,respectively,following by mpl gene,with a deletion rate of 19.78％.According to the absence of virulence genes,91 strains could be divided into 10 subtypes,and the dominant virulence subtypes was type Ⅰ with all 23 virulence genes.The deletion rate of virulent genes in Shijiazhuang was higher than that in northern Hebei.It is suggested that the rate of virulence gene of food-borne Lm in Hebei Province is high,and the virulence gene deletion patterns has diversity and regional differences.

OBJECTIVETo explore the existence of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in ovarian carcinoma and its correlationship with the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of the tumor.

METHODSA total of 84 ovarian carcinoma cases were collected with complete clinical and prognostic data. CD31 immunohistochemistry and PAS special stain were used to investigate VM in the tumor tissue. Immunohistochemical staining of VEGF, MMP-2, MMP-9, E-cadherin, beta-catenin, and Vimentin were used to explore the pathogenesis of VM.

RESULTSTotally 36 of 84 cases exhibited evidence of VM. FIGO classification, pathologic grades and histological types were significantly different between the VM and non-VM groups. Expression of VEGF, MMP-2, MMP-9, E-cadherin and beta-catenin were higher in the VM group than in the non-VM group. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that cases of the VM group had a lower survival rate than that of the non-VM group (P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONSVasculogenic mimicry exists in ovarian carcinoma. Ovarian carcinomas with a high grade malignancy have a high incidence of VM formation, a higher incidence of metastases and a lower survival rate. High expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 may contribute to the formation of VM in the ovarian cancer.

Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Endometrioid ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

This study is to investigate the protective effect of quercetin against adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity and its mechanism. The cardiotoxicity was induced by intraperitoneal injection of adriamycin (ADR) at a single dose of 20 mg x kg(-1). Mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=20): normal control group, ADR 20 mg x kg(-1) group, quercetin (50, 100, and 200 mg x kg(-1) groups, intragastric administration, once a day, for 7 days before ADR administration). The health conditions, electrocardiogram, activity of iNOS, SOD and LDH, levels of NO and MDA in serum or tissue homogenate, the ultrastructure and the expression of p53 protein in cardiac tissue of mice were observed. Compared with the normal control group, ADR decreased the amplitude of ECG's R wave (P < 0.001), increased the incidence of arrhythmia (to 60%), injured myocardial ultrastructure, increased the activity of LDH and iNOS, and levels of NO and MDA, decreased the activity of SOD, and increased the expression of p53 (P < 0.001). Compared with ADR 20 mg x kg(-1) group, the quercetin decreased the levels of LDH, iNOS, NO and MDA, increased the activity of SOD, restored the amplitude of R wave, decreased the incidence of arrhythmia and p53 expression (P < 0.001 , P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), and markedly reduced the myocardial ultrastructure injury. Quercetin had protective effect against adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity. The mechanism may be related to its enhancing myocardial SOD activity, decreasing iNOS activity and inhibiting myocardial apoptosis.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; blood ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Doxorubicin ; Female ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Mice ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; blood ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Quercetin ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the use of protein array chips in detection of multidrug-resistance proteins.

METHODSHuman erythroleukemic cell line K562 and its doxorubicin-resistant counterpart K562/A02 were used in the study. Monoclonal antibodies against P-glycoprotein (P-gP), multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP1) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) were immobilized onto agarose film-coated glass. The antibody-cell binding was assessed by capturing K562 and K562/A02 cells. The protein array was observed under a microscope and the image was captured with a CCD camera. The expression levels of the three proteins were also measured by flow cytometry (FCM).

RESULTSThe expression of P-gP and BCRP in K562 was very low. However, MRP1 expression was high. P-gP and MRP1 were highly expressed in K562/A02, while the expression of BCRP was low. FCM results showed that the expression rate of P-gP, MRP1 and BCRP in K562 cells was 5.98% +/- 2.19%, 95.80% +/- 3.98%, 1.03% +/- 0.45%, respectively, while that in K562/A02 cells was 92.67% +/- 1.80%, 97.18% +/- 1.02%, 3.98% +/- 0.37%, respectively. The results of protein array method are consistent with those of FCM (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIt is feasible to develop a new protein array technique and to provide a novel method for multi-drug resistant cell detection, with a high throughput, high specificity, simple procedure and low cost.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Sub-Family G, Member 2 ; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters ; analysis ; ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family B, Member 1 ; analysis ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; genetics ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins ; analysis ; Neoplasm Proteins ; analysis ; Protein Array Analysis

OBJECTIVETo study the role of carbamyl phosphate I (CPS-I)and ornithine transcarbamoylase (OCT) levels in cirrhosis patients with and without hepatic encephalopathy, and to analyze the correlations between CPS-Iand OCT with the development of hepatic encephalopathy.

METHODSCPS-I, OCT, plasma ammonia and liver function of 95 cirrhosis patients with hepatic encephalopathy and 25 cirrhosis patients without hepatic encephalopathy in our hospital from January 2008 to December 2009 were analyzed. 60 healthy controls were recruited in the control group. The differences of serum CPS-I, OCT levels among the cirrhosis patients with and without hepatic encephalopathy and the healthy controls were analyzed; the correlations of CPS-I, OCT levels with plasma ammonia and total protein in cirrhosis patients,and the correlations of CPS-I, OCT levels with Child-Pugh classification of cirrhosis symptom severity in cirrhosis were analyzed. the clinical characteristics between patients who had HE and no HE with chi-square tests were compared. Comparisons of CPS-I, OCT levels across patients based on the Child-Pugh classification were performed with One-Way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls, correlation of CPS-I, OCT with other indicators were performed with Pearson correlation analysis.

RESULTSSerum CPS-I and OCT levels in cirrhosis patients with hepatic encephalopathy were (143.3+/-48.5) U/L, (297.0+/-102.6) is multiplied by 10 U/L, which were lower than that in cirrhosis patients without hepatic encephalopathy (180.3+/-51.5) U/L, (351.8+/-109.0) is multiplied by 10 U/L (t = 2.53, t = 2.78, P < 0.01). Compared with healthy controls, serum CPS-I and OCT levels in cirrhosis patients with and without hepatic encephalopathy were all lower (t = 3.21, t = 4.16, t = 2.12, t = 3.15, P < 0.05). CPS-I was correlated with OCT, (r = 0.946, P < 0.05); CPS-I and OCT were negatively correlated with ALT and AST (r = -0.284, r = -0.239, r = -0.303, r = -0.322, P < 0.05). Additionally, CPS-I and OCT levels were negatively correlated with the Child-Pugh classification in Cirrhosis (F = 10.13, F = 20.28, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe serum CPS-I and COT levels were important factors affecting plasma ammonia in patients with cirrhosis and played an important role in the development of hepatic encephalopathy.

Adult ; Ammonia ; blood ; Carbamoyl-Phosphate Synthase (Ammonia) ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; blood ; enzymology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDNeovascular glaucoma (NVG) is a refractory disease which is difficult to manage. This study aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of adjunctive intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection in conjunction with Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation (AGVI) in the management of NVG.

METHODSThis was a retrospective study of patients with NVG in whom AGVI was performed between October 2008 and May 2012. The sample was divided into two groups according to the pretreatment: with adjunctive IVB injection (the IVB group, n = 25 eyes) and without adjunctive IVB injection (the control group, n = 28 eyes). The surgical success rate, number of antiglaucoma medications used, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), postoperative complications, regression, and recurrence of iris neovascularization (NVI) were analyzed between the groups.

RESULTSThe surgical outcomes of the two groups were compared. The complete success rates in the IVB and control groups were 84.0% and 64.3% at 12 months and 80.0% and 53.6% at 18 months, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.041). Mean postoperative intraocular pressures, mean number of postoperative antiglaucoma medications, and BCVA were not significant between the two groups. The NVI in 22 (88.0%) eyes had completely regressed within 2 - 8 days after IVB. However, NVI recurred in 10 eyes (40.0%) 2 - 9 months later after IVB. The IVB group had only 1 case (4.0%) of hyphema out of 25 eyes, while there were 8 (28.6%) cases of hyphema out of 28 eyes in the control group (P = 0.026).

CONCLUSIONSThis study showed that preoperative IVB injection reduced NVI remarkably, decreased hyphema, and led to higher surgical success rates. Pre-operative IVB injection may be an effective adjunct to AGVI in the management of NVG.

Adult ; Aged ; Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; administration & dosage ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; administration & dosage ; Bevacizumab ; Female ; Glaucoma Drainage Implants ; adverse effects ; Glaucoma, Neovascular ; therapy ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Intravitreal Injections ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prosthesis Implantation ; methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Visual Acuity